


Hester Rose

by nerdzeword



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Draco has a kid, Duh Duh Duh, F/M, Fluff, Minor Character Death, Mystery, Original Character Death(s), Ron Weasley Bashing, Ron bashing(TM), She's adorable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2017-03-13
Packaged: 2018-09-12 08:45:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9064669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdzeword/pseuds/nerdzeword
Summary: In Which Draco Malfoy finds himself in charge of a five year old that he doesn't want, with the help of a witch he doesn't particularly like.





	1. In Which Draco is Followed

**Author's Note:**

> Whatup guys! So this is one that I've been working on for a long time. It is done, so if I can remember to actually post them, the updates should be weekly. In theory.
> 
> Feel free to talk to me about anything, either here, or on my blog. (nerdzewordart.tumblr.com) I may also end up posting some art of the characters there as well. so keep an eye out.
> 
> With the exceptions of a few, all characters belong to our lord and saviour J.K. Rowling, and it's pretty easy to figure out which characters are mine.
> 
> Cheerio!

Draco glanced behind him again. Nope. It was still there. He considered going to the ministry to get rid of it, all of those security measures and whatnot, but he wasn’t  _ that _ heartless. It was just a little girl. He knew because he had thoroughly tested her for any form of magical disguise. 

Nope. She was just a small person who had been following him for the past half an hour. Finally, he gave up and turned around, swiveling on one heel.

“What do you want?” He demanded, startling the girl. She shrugged. 

“You’re like me.” He took a moment to assess the small girl. She looked like she was from some sort of middle eastern country, with skin the color of toffee and hair he assumed was black. He hoped it was black, otherwise that was a  _ lot  _ of dirt.  But what really got him was her eyes. She had the most vibrant blue eyes he had ever seen in his life. 

“I am obviously nothing like you, otherwise I would be covered with enough dirt to drown a zombie too. Which I am obviously not.” He gestured to his tailored suit. To his surprise, she giggled. 

“You’re funny. I like you.” She told him, wandering closer. He took a step back. 

“Stay put. I have to go to work and I don’t feel like changing today.” He informed her primly. Then he eyed her carefully, praying that the thought that just passed through his head wasn’t accurate. 

“What did you mean we’re the same?” he asked her. She leaned in close and whispered to him loudly.

“You can do magic too.” He groaned. Just his luck. Now he really couldn’t get rid of the girl. Stupid ministry and their stupid rules. He sighed in defeat and picked the small girl up. 

“What’s your name Squirt?” 

“Hester Rose.” she replied primly, clutching to him as if he were going to drop her. 

“Well that’s a pretty good name. Where are your parents Hester Rose?” She frowned sadly.  And Draco dreaded the response he knew he was sure to get.

“Mummy went to live with the angels.” She told him. It didn’t escape his notice that she never mentioned her father. He looked around her at his watch and groaned.

“Well brat, I hope you appreciate this, because you’re making me late for work.” He walked to a shady alleyway and apparated home. He set the girl down on the carpet and went to the window where his owl, Titus, was sitting. 

“Don’t touch anything until you've cleaned up Squirt.” he called over his shoulder as he wrote a short note to Potter explaining that he would be late and he would understand why shortly. He turned around to find the girl staring in awe at everything around her. 

“You’re rich.” she stated

“Yup.” he replied, 

“Also nice.” She nodded at him before giving him a giant grin. He took her hand and lead her to the bathroom, vaguely disturbed. He was a Malfoy. Malfoys weren’t nice. He picked her up and sat her on the sink before carefully removing the hair tie from her hair, and slowly pulling apart the braid. When he was done, he set her back down on the floor. 

“Can you wash yourself Squirt?” he asked her. she nodded and affirmative, so he turned on the tub and told her which bottles were which, before leaving her to her bath. He left the door cracked, just in case. He walked back to the living room and perched at the hearth uncertainly before giving in and tossing in some floo powder. 

“Potter residence” he called, sticking his head in the flames. Ginny saw him straight off.

“Oh. Hey Malfoy.”

“No time to chat right now Weasley. I need you to come over and bring some small child’s clothing with you. I’ll leave the floo open.” and he disappeared. Ginny rolled her eyes and did as she was told, wondering in irritation if Malfoy even realized that not all children wore the same size.

 

He stood up and bent his aching knees before he heard a yell from the bathroom.

“Mister!” Hester yelled. Draco appeared in the doorway and almost laughed when he saw the little girl covered in bubbles peeking out over the top of the tub.

“What’s up Squirt?” he asked, crouching beside the tub so he was eye level with the girl.

“Mommy always washed my hair for me.” she pouted, tears clinging to her lashes. Draco wondered if she had burnt her eyes on the soap and cast a wandless spell that he remembered his mother using when he was a child. He kneeled down beside her with a small sigh

“Turn around.” she obeyed and he set to work cleaning out her long hair, which he was disgusted to find was not black, but instead a very dark brown. “Merlin girl. How long has it been since you’ve had a bath?” she just shrugged.

“Well just because you look like a pig doesn’t mean you have to act like one. From now on I demand you take a bath at  _ least  _ every other day. But every day would be preferable.” she frowned at him and splashed him, getting his suit wet as well as dirty.

“Hey!” he yelled. Hester just stuck her tongue out at him. 

Ginny thought that it might be a good time to make her presence known.

“So that’s why you needed the clothes. Get a pet have we Malfoy?” She teased 

“I should have gotten a dog.” he complained “They can’t talk back.” Hester giggled as he dumped a bunch of water on her head. Ginny started pulling clothes out of her bag. Draco noticed how much she had shoved in there and figured she had to have put an undetectable extension charm on it. Actually she had probably had Granger do it as they were very hard to pull off and rumor was that Granger was something of a pro at them. 

“How old are you honey?” she asked the girl, who Draco was now smothering with a towel. Hester giggled before wiggling a hand out of the towel and holding up five fingers. Ginny grinned at Draco over the girl’s head. 

“You’re going to have a handful there Malfoy.” She told him with a smug smirk. 

“Yeah yeah yeah. Shut it Weasley.” Ginny took the girl’s hand and shoved Malfoy out the door before shutting it behind him. He heard her ask her name. He smiled smugly, knowing that the redheaded Potter couldn’t resist a child in need. He changed his clothes and made some toast for himself and his small charge. Then he grudgingly made some for Ginny too.

When they finally exited the bathroom, Ginny was carrying a wildly gesturing Hester. who was talking at a speed that Draco thought should have been inhuman. He tossed Ginny some toast and was impressed when she actually caught it. She put Hester down and the girl immediately ran into Draco’s legs and looked at him expectantly with her big blue eyes. He noticed that she was now wearing a flowery pink dress, and he was also surprised to discover that her hair, which he had assumed to be straight due to it’s original braid, was in reality very,  _ very _ curly. 

“What makes you think this is for you?” he asked her with a smirk. She just widened her eyes and pouted in what he knew to be a puppy dog face. It didn’t change his inability to say no. 

“What do you say?” he demanded

“Please?” He handed her the toast and it was gone so fast he wasn’t even sure she tasted it. He picked her up.

“Come on Squirt. Let’s go to work. Thank miss Ginny for the dress.” he told her 

“Thank you Miss Ginny.” the little girl said solemnly. Ginny grinned and winked at her before turning to Draco. 

“You’d better get going before Harry fires you.” Draco just nodded and carried the small girl to the floo. 

“Ready Squirt?" he asked, taking a handful of floo powder. He got a nod in response and she clung to him tighter. “Don’t touch anything Weasley.” he called to Ginny who just laughed. he looked at the girl in his arms again before calling out “Ministry of Magic.” 


	2. In Which Draco Finds a Babysitter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I meant to post this sooner, but anyone who has ever worked in retail knows that the holidays are the busiest time of the year, and I had zero time between my two jobs. But here it is now!

He ignored the other workers as he strolled into the elevators with the little girl on his hip. Hester for her part just looked around curiously. Then she saw the memo planes. She started to squirm around to look at them, so Draco put her down. 

“Look look! What are they doing?” She asked him, pointing at the planes. he knelt down beside her, ignoring the laughter of the two other men in the elevator. 

“They’re carrying messages.” he pointed to one. “that one is going to the second floor.” he pointed to another “That one goes to the fourth floor.”

“How do you know?” she whispered in awe as he picked her back up, knowing his stop was soon. 

“Because, my dear Hester, I am super smart.” she started to giggle and didn’t stop until he had stopped in front of Potter’s office at the end of the hall. 

“You’re late Malfoy.” Harry didn’t even look up as he walked in.

“I was helping the homeless, give me a break. I mean, could you have said no to this face?” He motioned to the girl in his arms. Harry looked up and narrowed his eyes at the small girl. Hester decided that Draco needed help and gave Harry her best innocent puppy dog face. Draco thought he might even like the girl in that moment. 

“What’s your name honey?” Harry asked her. However Hester wasn’t paying attention to him anymore, having seen the pictures that riddled Harry’s desk. 

“DRACO!” she yelled “Draco look it’s Miss Ginny!” She pointed frantically. 

“So it is.” he replied with a smirk. “Do you know who that is?” he pointed to Harry. She shook her head.

“That is Miss Ginny’s husband.” she looked at Harry curiously.

“What does that mean?” 

“That means that Ginny and I are a family.” Harry interrupted before Draco could make up some bogus explanation. And he saw from the sneer on Draco’s face that that was exactly what he had been planning on doing. “Where is your family?” he asked the little girl, whom Draco had gotten tired of carrying and placed in the chair. 

“My mommy went to live with the Angels so I don’t have a family.” she told Harry. Swinging her legs. She looked up suddenly. “Are you my new family Draco?” She asked him. Draco shuffled nervously. 

“I don’t think so Squirt. I think you have some other family and we should probably find them.” She frowned and crossed her arms

“I don’t want a different family!” she yelled at him. Harry just smirked. 

“Well then. We’ll have to discuss your family later. Draco, you need to get to work. Why don’t you take her down to Hermione, I happen to know that she’s bored at the moment and could use a distraction.” Draco nodded.

“Come on Squirt. Let’s go make you some more friends.”  Hester looked up. 

“I have friends! A whole bunch of them!” She began to ramble on about all of the friends she had at her muggle primary school while Draco took her hand and led her back to the elevators.

 

His relationship with Hermione Granger, while not as strained as it had been in school, was not nearly as changed as his relationship with Potter and his wife, which was bordering on 

friendship. While they didn’t necessarily fight anymore, he and Granger were more similar than was comfortable to them and they usually tried to avoid spending more than an hour in the other’s presence, as their similarities tended to manifest in vicious verbal sparring matches that both of them secretly enjoyed, however left just about everyone else in the general vicinity in fear of their lives. 

Their volatile past didn’t help matters any.

“Granger!” he called when they reached her office, talking over Hester, who had hardly stopped talking to breath the entire journey. Hermione groaned and looked over her glasses at Draco. 

“Yes Malfoy?” Draco wondered, not for the first time, what could have possibly possessed her to choose to work in the Beast closet. She just seemed like she was always on her way to be the Minister of Magic. So seeing her sitting behind miles of paperwork in a closet office was… odd. 

“I have a present for you.” He smirked at her, putting aside his thoughts on her work space.

“Lovely.” she said sarcastically, wiping the boredom off her face and feigning interest. “Lets see it then.” She obviously hadn’t seen the little girl over the huge stack of papers sitting on her desk, Draco grinned. This would be fun. 

“Hester dear, introduce yourself.” Hester climbed onto the chair in front of Hermione’s desk, and leaned on the stack of papers. 

“Hi! My name is Hester Rose and that’s my new family!” she pointed to Draco who sighed. 

“We talked about that Squirt. You have a family, we just have to find them.” Hermione sent him an amused glance as Hester started to argue with him. 

“It’s nice to meet you Hester Rose. How old are you?” She distracted the small girl, much to Draco’s relief.

“I need to get to work Granger, so I’m going to leave her here with you.” He told the woman. Hermione’s eyes widened in alarm. He turned to Hester before the woman had a chance to speak. “I have a very important job for you Squirt.” He told her with a slight grin. Oh, Granger was going to hate him. He knelt before her and gestured her closer to him. Hester obeyed, jumping off the chair loudly. 

“I need you to stay here and watch Miss Granger for me. Don’t let her out of your sight understand?” he whispered to her. Hester nodded seriously. “Good.” He ruffled her hair as he stood up “See you later Squirt!” He called over his shoulder with a wave. This was starting to look like a good day after all.


	3. In Which Draco goes Shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Being poor is a curse really. 1/10 would not recommend.

Draco was exhausted when he got back to Hermione’s office to retrieve his new charge. Potter had had him running around london on a recon mission involving the Lestrange brothers, who had still managed to evade capture the last few years.

“Draco!” Hester squealed, running into his legs and nearly knocking him over. 

“Why does she like you?” Hermione watched him with her arms crossed. He grinned at her. 

“My charm I guess.” Hester shook her head

“You smell like cookies” Draco stared at her in something close to alarm. 

“What kind of cookies?” He asked. Hermione looked intrigued. 

“Chocolate chip” 

“I suppose that’s alright then. Come on Squirt. Say goodbye to Granger. You and I have some investigating to do. “ Hester stomped her foot 

“Her name is Minnie! Call her by her name!” she yelled at a now very confused Draco.

“Hester, her name  _ is _ Granger. She has two names just like you.” Hester shook her head 

“Nuh uh. Call her Minnie!” Draco sighed, why was he subjecting himself to this? He picked the little girl up and swung her around once to distract her before setting her on his hip. Before he could make his escape however, he was interrupted by Hermione.

“What are you investigating?”

“I’m trying to find the identity of her mother so we can track down the rest of her family. Cheerio.” He took a step towards the door but was interrupted again. 

“I’m going to help you.” He turned around.

“You really don’t-”

“I’m going to help you Malfoy. Deal with it!” She poked him in the chest before walking past him and out of the office. Draco looked down at Hester. 

“Your new friend is crazy.” Hester only nodded. 

 

After they got back through the throng of people at the Ministry and back home, Draco wasted no time removing Hester’s coat. Draco hated the floo system at the ministry, he hated it even more when he had an energetic, yet simultaneously crabby, five year old to look after as well. 

“Come on Squirt. Let’s get you to bed. It’s about your nap time I think.”

“Nooo I want to stay and play with you and Minnie!” She whined, he could hear the tears in her voice and internally groaned. 

“I wish I could take a nap with you Squirt. I really do, but I have to do boring grown up things with Minnie.”

“You’re a grown up. You don’t have to take a nap.” She informed him.

“Smart girl. But you see Hester Rose, when you become a grown up, they make you do boring things instead of naps. I’d much rather take a nap.” She cocked her head to the side. 

“What kinds of boring things?” He leaned forward conspiratorially and whispered

“Really boring things. Like taxes. and paperwork.” Hester looked appalled. 

“Minnie has a lots of paperwork. Does she have to do it all?” Draco nodded grimly. “Every last one.” Hester gasped. “Which is why you need to go take your nap.” Hester protested for a few more minutes before finally conceding and following Draco to his room and letting him tuck her in. 

 

“So what’s the deal with her Malfoy.” Draco and Hermione were sitting at his kitchen table, each with their own cup of coffee. Draco smirked at her abrasiveness. 

“How much information on her parents did you get out of her?” He asked in return Hermione shook her head at his question.

“Nothing. She doesn’t even know her last name!” He raised his mug to her in mock salute. 

“Congratulations. You know about as much as I do.” Hermione harrumphed and Draco continued. “We know for a fact that her Mum at the very least, was a muggle, and she has never mentioned her father. So I propose we go into muggle London and see if we can access the muggle police databases. If they lived in muggle London when her mother died, the databases are bound to have her name written somewhere. And it’s not like she has a common name. Once we figure out her full name, it’ll be easier to figure out who her father is.” Hermione blinked at him.

“Wow Malfoy. That’s actually a rather solid plan.” he drained his mug and shrugged, secretly pleased with her praise.

“I have my moments.” Hermione gave a small laugh and Draco looked up at her in surprise. Then he noticed Hester standing in the hallway. 

“Hester? What’s wrong?” Hester just shook her head and glared at him before running back to his room and slamming the door. 

“Five years old and she already has mood swings. Why does the world hate me.” Draco muttered under his breath.

“It’s the universe repaying you for being an ass all the way through Hogwarts.” Hermione replied dryly, looking somewhat amused. “You do realize though Malfoy, if you want her to continue living here, you’re going to have to make your place a bit more child friendly.” Draco looked around his flat and admitted to himself that she was right. It was very much a bachelor pad. He looked back at Hermione.

“So what? We drop her off at the Potter’s place, go get her some clothes and some toys and be back before dinner. Easy as cake.” Hermione smirked at him.

“Tell me Malfoy. Do you have a child size bed? Or a stool so she can reach the table? Or some age appropriate books? And what about school? Have you even thought about enrolling her in some sort of program yet?” Draco frowned 

“Does she really need all that?” Hermione nodded and took another drink of her coffee. Draco groaned and collapsed onto the table.

 

Draco was more than ready to take Hermione’s advice by the next morning. Apparently five year olds were early risers, and they  _ kicked. _ After changing Hester into an outfit he could live with, (no charge of  _ his  _ was going to go outside looking like some common muggle) Draco floo’d them both over to the Potter’s house. 

“Do you ever ask anymore?” Ginny demanded after finding them in her living room. 

“Nope.” Draco replied unabashedly. “Can you watch Hester? I’m going to get her some things with Granger.” He dodged Hester’s tiny foot as she brought it down to stomp on his. She glared up at him and Draco stuck his tongue out at her. Ginny looked amused

“You do realize I have children of my own, don’t you Malfoy?”

“Which is exactly why you are the perfect one to take care of this little Squirt.” He ruffled Hester’s hair and stepped back into the floo. 

“Be good Hester!” And once again he was gone. 

 

He didn’t return home however, instead he floo’d to Hermione’s apartment in outer London. She had given him access to her floo the night before, with strict instructions that he wasn’t to use it before 9:00 in the morning. It was 8:30. Close enough.

“Granger!” he called out when he arrived. He was puzzled when she was nowhere to be seen. Surely she couldn’t still be asleep? He thought that a bookworm like her would wake up early. Seize the day and all that. He knocked on her bedroom door.

“Granger?” She groaned from the other side of the door.

“Is it seriously nine-o-clock already?” she muttered opening the door. Draco was incredibly amused to discover that she slept in a pair of penguin patterned pajama pants and a tank top. He was even more amused by the state of her hair, which hovered around her head in a staticy mess. As he needed her to help him figure out what to get for Hester, Draco opted not to comment on either her clothing, or the state of her hair. Instead, he took the route that was least likely to get him hexed. 

“Rise and shine Granger! The day awaits!”

“Oh Fuck off Malfoy!” She told him before slamming the door in his face. He grinned, this day was going to be fun already.

“Coffee.” She muttered as she walked past where he was reading the paper at her kitchen table, fifteen minutes later.

“I already made a pot.” He commented, watching her with amusement. She was no longer in pajamas, but she had yet to tame her hair. Draco rather hoped she wouldn’t bother, unlike when she was younger, the crazy look rather suited her. Not that he would ever tell her that of course. 

When she was slightly more coherent, she sat across from him at the table. 

“So when did you learn how to use a coffee maker?” She asked him

“When I moved into my apartment. Living as a muggle has it’s benefits. Decent coffee is one of them.” She nodded and smiled slightly. 

“Magically made coffee never quite tastes right, does it?” 

“No it does not.” He agreed and held out his hand. “Come along Granger, there’s work to be done!” Hermione drained the last of her coffee and followed him to the door, leaving her empty coffee cup on the table. She led Draco out of the apartment and into the chilly early morning breeze. 

“First, we’ll need some new furniture. Do you ever actually use that office in your flat?”

“Not in the slightest. It’s only there because it doubles as a spare room for when Daphne and Blaise have one of their spats and Blaise decides that my flat is the perfect place to stay.”

“Well, that won’t be an option after this.” She commented.

“Thank Merlin.”

“Don’t think him yet Malfoy, you are still going to be taking care of a five year old instead.” She led him into a store that was full of small living rooms. Draco found it rather odd. Hermione led him past the living spaces, and the kitchen appliances and straight back into the bedroom furniture. 

“So why can’t she just use the futon that’s in there again?”

“You can’t make a five year old sleep on a futon Draco- here. How about this one?” Hermione pointed at a bright pink bed and laughed at his disgusted face. 

“Granger. If I have to get a damn child’s bed, I’m going to get one that is at least somewhat tasteful.” He declared before stalking off muttering under his breath about ‘stupid witches’ and ‘no taste whatsoever.’ In the end he chose a nice bedroom set made out of a light colored wood and had them arrange to deliver it later that day.

“That wasn’t so hard.” he told Hermione as they left the store.

“Oh no. That was only our first stop.” Draco stared at her.

“What. You mean there’s more?”


	4. In Which Draco and Hermione Find a Lead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my mom is planning this very large and elaborate murder mystery party and has enlisted me to help write it. Which would be fine, except she wants everyone attending to have a role. Which means I have to figure out around 75 different backstories, as well as all of the character connections and plan the actual murder. It's ridiculous. If she manages to pull this off, it will be a miracle.

“What color do you want your room Hester?” Draco and Hester were sitting on her new bed, Hermione having finally left fifteen minutes before. She had stayed and helped him move his furniture around, and set up all of Hester’s things. Draco had found he didn’t hate her presence as much as he had in the past, but he could only take so much Hermione Granger in one day. It was a relief when she finally left. Hester tapped her lip with her finger, a habit Draco thought she might have picked up from Ginny Potter.

“Green.” She decided. He grinned. 

“You sure there Squirt?” 

“Yeah! There was a super cool green dragon in Albus’ book.” He laughed

“Dragons are pretty cool, huh.” 

“Yeah!” Draco picked up his wand and waved it at the walls, turning them all a light green color. Hester clapped in delight and crawled across the bed to him. She looked at him for a moment, then wrapped her arms around his middle. Draco just stared at her. No one had hugged him in years. No one had wanted to hug him in years. It was strange. But, he decided, putting his arms around the little girl, it wasn’t the worst thing.

 

It took a couple of weeks, but Draco thought he was finally getting the hang of this whole ‘having a kid’ thing. He’d become quite good at tucking Hester in at night, and by the second week he was starting to think of himself as a bit of a pro at it. It helped that Hermione couldn’t seem to stop buying Hester new books to read. 

“Good Night Daddy.” he was broken out of his reverie by the sound of her voice. 

“What?” He couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. Despite his sudden panic at the thought of having this little girl think of him as a father, he couldn’t help but feel a jolt of satisfaction and joy. Hester considered him a father. She loved him.

“Night Daddy.” She repeated. Draco sighed and sat on the edge of the bed beside her.

“You know, Squirt. I’m not your real Daddy. You have a Daddy out there somewhere, we just have to find him.”

“Does that mean I can’t call you Daddy?”

“Hester Rose, you can call me whatever you like. Are you sure your actual Daddy won’t be mad if you call me that though?” She shook her head. Draco let out a breath. 

“Goodnight Squirt. Sleep tight.” He flipped the light off as he left the room and leaned against the door frame in the hallway. He was in over his head now. But he wasn’t so sure he wanted to stop. There was the sound of the floo and Draco turned towards it just in time to have Hermione run straight into him. 

“There you are! They found a lead on Hester’s case!” She whispered to him in a hushed voice, so not to wake Hester. She then handed him a stack of papers. 

“Shall we get started?” She asked him with a small grin.

“We shall.” He nodded the affirmative, not quite being able to match her grin due to the weight in his chest. This was going to be harder than he anticipated.

 

It was several hours and an entire pot of coffee later that they finally found any information of note. Hermione was the one who managed to find the name of the foster home she was placed in, among all of the legal tripwire that lined her file. Draco leaned over to read over her shoulder as she read the passage aloud.

“Hester Rose Daemon is being assigned to the home of a Miss Prudence Allison.” Draco looked at her. 

“Well that’s good then, all we have to do is see if we can find this Prudence Allison person.”

“And how do you suggest we do that?” Hermione said hotly. Draco grinned at her.

“Granger, Granger, Granger. I’m an Auror. I have access to all police records, wizarding and otherwise.” She smiled at him and yawned. 

“Well I should get home.” Draco glanced at the clock. 

“Granger! It’s two in the morning! There is no way I’m going to let you floo home this late. Not as tired as you are.”

“Really Draco. I’ll be fine.”

“I insist. You can take my room. I’ll crash on the futon in Hester’s room.”

“Draco!” She looked exasperated, but didn’t argue further. Draco took advantage of his temporary win and led her to his room. He gestured at the door to the bathroom. 

“Feel free to freshen up, shower, whatever it is you like to do. You’ll know where I am when you’re done.” He waved to her on an offhanded manner, taking one of the pillows that littered his bed as he left. Draco laid down on the futon and grumbled under his breath. This was going to suck. He was much too polite for his own good. The problem was, Draco knew perfectly well that Hermione Granger was the only person other than the five year old in the room with him, that he had ever given up his bed for. 

He didn’t dare think about why that could be.

 

Draco woke to see Hester staring at him, as per the usual. 

“Daddy.” She whispered loudly 

“Yes Hester?” Draco replied, only a little bit bitterly.

“Why is Minnie here? Does she live here now?” Draco sighed

“No Hester, she’s just having a sleepover.” 

“Oh. Okay!” She ran out of the room, yelling Hermione’s name. Draco groaned and pulled the pillow back over his head. Granger was not going to be happy when she got up. Not. At. All. When he heard movement from the bedroom, Draco finally decided to get up and start a pot. Knowing Granger, they would both need it. He also put on kettle for hot chocolate. He had learned the hard way, that Hester did not appreciate being left out of the coffee drinking. 

She was going to be so confused when she got older and realized that not all hot drinks were automatically coffee. The coffee was nearly done before Hermione finally stumbled out of his room, being dragged by Hester. If Draco didn’t value his life, he would have laughed. The coffee maker dinged and Draco handed Hermione a cup post haste. 

“Daddy!” Hester protested. “What about me?” 

“Granger is our guest. Guests get served first.” He replied. He was going to make her learn some manners if it was the last thing he did. It probably would be the last thing he did too, at the rate he was going. Hermione raised her eyebrows at him over the top of her mug. Draco gave her his best ‘I’ll tell you later’ look and handed Hester her hot chocolate. Draco then escaped to his room to shower and change. 

After Hester’s extreme reaction to hearing that they were looking for her family, Draco and Hermione had decided to keep their investigation from their young charge. This was also why he left Hester showing off all of her new dragons and trucks to Hermione and floo’d to the Ministry to put in his request for the information they needed on Prudence Allison.

Hopefully it wouldn’t take too long to get the information he needed soon, because with every day that passed, the harder he knew it was going to be for him to let her go.


	5. In Which Draco and Hermione have a 'Moment'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to anyone who has commented! I usually try to reply to you individually, (and might still) but I've been really busy, and I just wanted to let you all know how much I appreciate your kind words.
> 
> Anyway, Happy January!

Draco received the information only three days later. In the form of an address that was handed to him by Potter himself. Draco had taken it, only to stare at it, after he had made it to his own office. This was where they were going to get the information they needed on Hester’s parents. This was how they were going to find her real father. A small part of Draco protested that he couldn’t be called her real father. Where had he been for the past month? Why had he not tried to find his daughter? And why would Hester refuse to say anything about him? Real fathers cared, didn’t they?

Draco knew he wasn’t going to get any real work done, just sitting at his desk staring at a piece of paper, so he signed off on all of his paperwork, and went downstairs to see Hermione. He wasn’t sure why she was wasting herself away in the back corner of the Beast Department, but she seemed to be enjoying herself (when she actually had something other than paperwork to do), so Draco wasn’t about to say anything. 

“Come on Granger!” He threw the door open dramatically, covering his smirk when she startled and her glasses fell off. It was only a moment later that he realized that despite the surprised face, she still had her wand pointed at him.

“Oh. It’s you.” she put the wand down and put her glasses back on, continuing to sort through her mountains of paperwork. Draco rolled his eyes and strolled over to the desk, dropping the address on top of the papers she was shuffling. She looked up.

“Is this-”

“Yup. Now come on Granger, we don’t have all day.” She scrambled around, tossing things into the ridiculous beaded purse that she carried everywhere. They floo’d back to Draco’s flat and took the Underground across London, finally managing to find the house that was listed. (After walking around the block at least three times and Hermione eventually just pulling out her phone and calling Harry to look it up.) Draco knocked on the door, already tired of their escapade. 

An older woman, looking as if she were in her mid to late sixties, opened the door. Draco thought she looked like a Prudence.

“Hello, Are you Prudence Allison?” He asked politely. She eyed Draco’s tailored suit and Hermione’s robes. (She had refused to transfigure them because she said it would ruin the fabric, and besides, the robes were very similar to muggle dresses anyway.)

“That’s me, can I help you with anything?” She asked cautiously. There was a shriek and a burst of laughter from behind her, and Draco could hear the sounds of running children’s feet. He was suddenly glad he only had one little girl, she was at least relatively quiet. 

“Hello, we’re with the department of Internal Affairs, we are looking for information on a little girl who was in your charge? A Miss Hester Rose Daemon?” Hermione spoke up. The woman bit her lip a bit. 

“Yes, well I suppose you’d best come in.” She led them into the house. “Tea?” She asked politely, motioning for them to sit down on one of the couches in the sitting room. Draco moved a toy truck, and did as he was told.

“If you would.” Hermione replied. Draco leaned over to her as soon as Prudence had left the room. 

“What does the Department of Internal Affairs do?” he whispered

“Not a clue, but it sounded fancy and highly classified.” she replied in a whisper of her own. Draco smirked at her, and suddenly both of them were trying not to laugh. They sobered up quickly however when Prudence came back with the tea, a grim look on her face. 

“What were you wanting to know?” 

“Anything you can tell us about her. Where she lived, went to school, the names of her parents. What happened to her while she was here. Anything at all.” Draco was glad that Hermione had taken charge, because now that he was here, he had no idea what he was going to say. Prudence took a breath. 

“All I know was what they told me when they brought her to me two months ago. She was a lovely little girl, if a bit shy.” Draco and Hermione looked at one another. That didn’t sound like the Hester they knew. 

“Her mother had apparently died in a fire a few days before they brought her to me. She had no known relatives and while apparently Hester had several friends from primary school, her mother knew, and was friendly with, very few people. They suspected that was out of fear of deportation, as she was an illegal immigrant from Iran.”

“Do you know her mother’s name?”

“I think she went by the name Sarah, but I believe her full name was Shideh. Shideh Daemon.” 

“And what could have prompted her to leave your care?” Draco said, a little irked at how little information she was giving them. Prudence froze and looked a bit alarmed. 

“I have no idea, she seemed happy enough in my care, she was doing remarkably well for a girl who had just lost her mother. But a month ago, I walked into her room and she was just… gone. No trace of where she could possibly have gone, or how she could have left.”

“How many other kids you you have in your care right now?” Hermione asked

“Three boys, all around the same age.”

“Could I meet them?” Draco had a silent conversation with Hermione before speaking.

“I would actually like to see the bedroom she was staying in, if you would.” Prudence nodded silently and led them to her room.

“This one was hers while she was here. No one has used it since, so I haven’t moved anything around yet.” She told him before leading Hermione out of the room. As soon as she was out of the room, Draco started casting spells. All of them revealed minor traces of magic, all around a month old. None of which was abnormal for a magical child like Hester. Magic didn’t particularly like to be contained. Especially not in such an emotional time as the death of her mother. Draco turned his attention to the room itself. The walls were covered in the typical stick figure drawings he had covering his own fridge. Unlike those drawings though, these were much darker than the doodles of suns and dragons and family portraits that littered his refrigerator. There was a recurring picture of a man with curly hair and pointy teeth, and another of a shadowy figure standing in front of a fire. 

Draco realized with a start, that the figure was Hester. She had been there when her mother had died. Draco wondered just how much the little girl had seen. And how she had escaped, if her mother hadn’t. He left the room and Hester’s bad memories behind. He didn’t want to think about that part of his little girl. Not yet. 

Hermione was giving a lecture to the little boys when he found her in the sitting room. He watched them in amusement for a minute before rescuing the poor boys from Hermione’s tirade. They bid adieu to Prudence and her charges and left the house. It wasn’t until Hermione had explained that the boys had teased Hester mercilessly the entire time she was there, that Draco regretted sparing them. 

“So we now know what happened to her mother, sort of. Who her mother was, sort of. Why she left the foster home, sort of. So why is it that we have even more questions than we started with?” Hermione summarized after they had filled one another in on what they had discovered.

“Because Merlin knows the universe has to make life difficult for us.” Draco replied glumly, thoughts of how Hester had escaped the fire still swirling in his head.

 

After that less than stellar news, Draco thought that they could use a drink. Hermione didn’t agree with him, since they were both technically still working. So he compromised and they found a nice little ice cream shop not far from Prudence Allison’s house, and ordered sundaes. Hermione moved hers around with her spoon. 

“I’m going to miss her when we have to give her up.” she said sadly. Draco just nodded, he wasn’t quite ready to admit that he would miss his young charge too. But he had a feeling Hermione knew anyway. Hermione laughed suddenly and brushed tears from her eyes. 

‘Merlin, I haven’t gotten this upset about anything since- well since Ron. But then again, I haven’t had this much fun since then either. When did my life get so dull?” Draco watched her with a horrible sense of unease at her nonchalance. Maybe her stupid job in the Beast Closet wasn’t what she liked to do after all. 

Draco knew a bit about Hermione’s relationship with Weasley. Everyone did. They were the talk of the wizarding world for a long time. Two war heroes united in soon to be matrimony, they were the perfect power couple. Until they weren’t. That’s where his knowledge became a bit hazy.

No one really knew why Granger and Weasley broke up. Some said it was because one of them cheated on the other, others said it was because Granger refused to put out. Draco had never particularly cared what had happened between the two of them, and even when he did bother to speculate, he usually just came to the conclusion that Granger had gotten fed up with Weasley and dumped him because they obviously weren’t meant to be together.

He was only just now realizing just how off his speculations were.

“He cheated on me.”

“Oh.” Draco wasn’t good with people. He wasn’t sure how to react to that sort of information. Especially not with this woman whom he had only recently even become friendly. 

“That was only the tip of the iceberg really.” She continued, still pushing the banana through her slowly melting ice cream. “He was always bitter and controlling. Angry at the world, and mopier than even Harry on his bad days. I’m not sure why the war hit him worse than the rest of us. But it did, and I spent so much time trying to make him the happy boy I fell in love with as a teen, that I forgot to worry about making me happy.” She gave a bitter laugh.”That’s one of my flaws I guess. Don’t know when to let people make their own mistakes. I guess I’ve always had a bit of a ‘saving people’ thing.” Draco was silent for another moment. He really didn’t like people baring their hearts to him. People were supposed to fear him, not confide in him.

“If it makes you feel better, I’ve been saying he’s a dick since we were eleven.” He said, feeling like he had to say  _ something  _ to fill the silence. She stared at him a moment, then said in the most deadpan voice Draco thought he had ever heard.

“Yes. I wonder why I never listened to  _ you  _ in school.” Draco smirked at her in amusement. Even he could admit he had been something of a brat in school.

“Granger, I dare say I have no idea what you could possibly mean.” She rolled her eyes at him and smiled. 

“I suppose it doesn’t matter now anyway. He’s gone, I’m still here. I might as well get on with my life, since he obviously got on with his.” She stated. 

“Granger, I think that’s probably the smartest thing I’ve ever heard you say.” In a moment of sheer childish enthusiasm, she stuck her tongue out at him. They both burst into laughter and Draco thought that for the first time in a long time, having someone confide in him might actually be okay. 

 


	6. In Which Hermione Admits That She Might be Wrong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello comrades! It is I! Back with another chapter!

 

Draco walked through the Ministry on his way to work. He was distracted because they had finally decided to send Hester to school. He would be sending her off l the next day, and it was still bothering him, no matter the facade he put up for Hermione and the Potters. What if the other kids didn’t like Hester? What if she had on outburst of accidental magic? In short, Draco was not a big fan of sending Hester anywhere. But then again, he had to work, he couldn’t keep giving her to Ginny Potter all the time. 

He was so lost in is thoughts that he didn’t notice where he was going and accidentally ran into someone in front of him. He muttered an apology at them and turned to leave. Before he had the chance, however, someone grabbed a fistful of his shirt.

“You think you have a right to walk wherever you want just because you were pardoned?” The man snarled at him. Draco had no doubt he could take the man in a fight, should he have the need to, but it was just a part of his daily routine at this point, and he knew that fighting back would only make it worse. Some people just needed someone to blame.

“You may hide it underneath all of those posh clothes, but in the end, I know you’re nothing more than a stupid death eater!” The man continued before letting go of Draco’s shirt and spitting at him. 

There was a time when Draco would have tracked the man down and used all of his resources to have him fired and his opportunities shattered. But Draco could no longer be bothered. If he blacklisted everyone who insulted him or made him mad, there would be no one left to work in the ministry. But it was still frustrating. He felt the anger build in his chest, but pushed it down. The last thing he needed was a scene. His image couldn’t afford to make one anymore.

 

Draco was still bitter and frustrated when he got to his office. He kicked the desk, took one look at the paperwork he had yet to file, turned around, and went to look for Hermione. He needed to talk to someone who might actually understand. When he got to her office, however, he found her in a state of despair. He sat across from her, moving the stack of papers that was resting on the chair to the floor beside him. He was obviously not going to be ranting to her today. He found he didn’t care as much as he thought he would, however.

“What’s wrong Granger?” She looked up, obviously surprised to see him there. He was just glad she wasn’t pointing her wand at him this time. 

“Oh. It’s you.” Draco had a strange sense of deja vous. Did they have this conversation every time he stopped by her office? 

“What’s wrong.” He asked again, surprised to discover that he actually wanted to know.

“They completely shot down my legislation to have werewolves reclassified!” She looked close to tears again, so Draco did what he did best. He made her mad instead. 

“What does it matter if they’re reclassified anyway?” She took a deep breath and began to rant, letting out a stream of insults in the process. Draco was rather amused to discover that he didn’t actually care about the insults any longer, Granger didn’t mean them anymore anyway. Usually.

She was driving him crazy though, why did she always insist that she loved her job? He wasn’t even paying attention to her rant and he could still hear the annoyance and frustration in her voice. Hermione Granger was the smartest witch of their age and could have any job in the wizarding world, and yet she chose to stay locked in this broom closet space, where she wasn’t even able to be productive. Draco didn’t understand her at all. She had so many ideas, so many plans and yet she limited herself to this one. As soon as she had stopped talking, Draco put in his own input.

“Granger. When are you going to quit this bogus job. You don’t like it, and you’re wasting your potential in this closet.” She gaped at him and was going to protest when he held up his hand and stood up. “You know what. Come find me when you figure it out. I have some paperwork to do.” He strode out of her office.

 

Hermione stopped by his office around lunch.

“You were right.” She told him, collapsing into the chair across from him. Draco looked up and studied her closely. Was she sick? She didn’t look sick.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that. What did you say?”

“I’m not repeating it Malfoy.” He grinned at her. 

“It didn’t take you long.” She sent him a dry look

“It took me three years, Draco. I wouldn’t exactly call that ‘not long.’” He grinned even wider. 

“So what are you going to do instead?” He asked her, steepling his fingers in preparation for giving her better advice for whatever stupid plan she had for where she wanted to go next. For the smartest woman he knew, Hermione wasn’t very good at making decisions when it came to herself. 

“I’m not sure. Since you have obviously given this some thought, do you have any suggestions?” Draco blinked at her. He didn’t think he had ever heard Hermione ask for help or advice before. He was honestly rather touched. Not that he would tell her that of course. 

“You should move to Consumer Relations, it’s a bit further down on the totem pole, but it gives you more opportunities to move up, plus you would have control over who runs and achieves Wizengamot and any other positions in the ministry. You can use it to delegate, find people who are going to achieve your ends and put them in charge of their own portions rather than trying to do it all yourself.” She stared at him, a bit open mouthed. 

“That’s… actually really smart.” Draco rolled his eyes

“Don’t sound so surprised Granger. I was right behind you in school, and I’m one of the top Aurors, I’m not exactly lacking in intelligence.” She laughed

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” He grinned at her again. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. Hermione got up and turned to the door. 

“I’d better put in a transfer request then. You you want to have dinner at my place tomorrow, or yours?” Draco shrugged

“Mine, yours is too small.” it was her turn to roll her eyes.

“Whatever Malfoy, see you then.” Draco turned back to his paperwork and returned to fretting over sending Hester to school the next day, having been reminded by Hermione’s question. He was not appreciating this part of being a parent.

 

“I want to adopt Hester.” Draco spoke up suddenly. Hester was finally in bed after slurping up a large portion of Hermione’s very al dente spaghetti and babbling on about her ‘really super cool’ new friends for at least an hour. “Assuming we can’t find her father within that three month grace period that is. I want to adopt her.” He knew he was rambling almost as bad as Hester, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop. Telling Hermione that he wanted to adopt Hester was to him the same as admitting how much he cared about the small girl. He had to stop himself from making excuses as to why he would be the best choice to take care of her. If he was admitting his feelings, he wasn’t going to sugar coat it. Hermione smiled at him in understanding.

“I agree that you should adopt her. She adores you and you’d have to be an idiot to deny how much you care about her.“ she paused thoughtfully then grinned “I may have to demand visiting rights however.” 

“You can have her once a month.” He told her with a small grin.

“Weekends.”

“Every other weekend.” 

“Deal.” They laughed and Draco found himself staring at her with a sappy smile on his face. He quickly looked back to the paperwork he had brought home from the office, The only one who was allowed to be the object of his sappy smiles was Hester. He glanced back up at Hermione through his eyelashes and traitorously thought that maybe he could make another exception to his rule. 

 


	7. In Which Hermione gets an Unexpected Visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends. I'm still exhausted from my mom's party, but It was a complete success so I guess it was worth it. Plus she paid me for my help so that was cool. 
> 
> I thought I'd also mention that I posted a picture of Hester Rose on my blog (nerdzewordart.tumblr.com/tagged/hester rose) in case anyone is interested. There are sure to be more pictures to come as well.

Hermione was not a morning person. Despite the number of times she woke the boys up in time for class while they were in school, she never woke up before noon unless it were completely necessary. Many things made that list of necessities; being attacked, work, school, five year old’s with curlier hair than her own, and possibly, just possibly, said five year old’s surrogate father. Not that she would admit that last one to anyone of course. 

Crazy Aunts banging on her door at 9 in the morning on a perfectly rainy friday of which she had previously  _ not  _ had to work, was not her idea of necessary. Even Draco would have backed away at the sight of her standing in the doorway of her apartment, her hair floating around her head in a threatening, and very  _ very _ tangled manner.

“What?” She questioned the appalled aunt and cousin who stood before her. She had no time for her extended family today. Or ever actually. This was going to be a long day.

 

“Draco!” Hermione let out a breathy sigh of relief as she slammed his office door behind her, leaning on it heavily. He raised an eyebrow at her strange entrance and continued to shuffle papers, trying to make it look like he was busy. There was no way he was going to let on that he was bored and her arrival was actually the highlight of his day. A small part of his brain whispered that seeing her was always the highlight of his day. He shut that part down quickly.

“I need your help.” She said when she had calmed down. His eyebrow shot even higher. 

“What ever with.” She ground her teeth.

“I need a date to a formal party tonight. It’s my aunt’s birthday party and she likes to show off. Everyone will have dates and I am rather sick of being the butt of all of the ‘poor spinster Granger’ jokes. Damn I hate my extended family.” He resisted the urge to grin and pretended his heart didn’t just do a little fluttery thing.

“And what do I get out of this arrangement?” He asked, steepling his fingers for effect. She rolled her eyes at his dramatics, but continued anyway.

“Chance to show off the way I know you so love to do. And free food that hasn’t been made by either me or Hester.” He considered this thoughtfully. Now that she’s pointed it out, why had he subjected himself to her cooking for so long? It wasn’t like he was poor, he could always go out to eat. 

“Fine. But you owe me. Big time.” She nodded.

“I’ll meet you at your place at 6 then.” before she left, she looked over her shoulder. “Thank you Malfoy.” he waved her off.

 

Three hours later, Hermione was standing in the middle of Draco’s living room, Hester running circles around her. 

“You look soooooo pretty Minnie! I wanna be as pretty as you when I grow up!” Hermione laughed

“You already are, Hester Darling. You already are.” Hester stopped running and looked up at her. 

“You really think so?” she asked. Hermione pretended to study her before she said

“Well I suppose you’ll need one thing.” She pulled her wand out of the secret pocket she had in her bra, and transfigured the little girl’s dress into something a bit flashier, she then pulled a hair clip out of her hair, not caring that another strand of hair fell down to frame her face. She waved her wand again and the clip turned into a little tiara, which she placed into the little girl’s curls.  Hester spun around and giggled some more before running into Draco’s room, not bothering to knock.

“Look Daddy!” she laughed, Hermione watched them from the doorway.”I’ma princess!”

“You were already a princess Squirt.” he said with a light laugh. Hermione had to bite her lip to keep from saying something about how good he looked when he smiled. Well, how good he looked just in general. Damn her and her traitorous thoughts. He noticed Hermione lingering in the doorway. 

“Ready to go then?” He asked She nodded as he picked up Hester. “Right then, off to the Potters with you Squirt!” he looked at Hermione. “I’ll be right back.” she nodded as he stepped into the floo. When he returned, she assessed his outfit, finally noticing what had been bothering her. 

“Lose the robes Draco.” she told him

“Why?”

“My family are muggles.” She reminded him gently. He swore under his breath and pulled the dress robes off.

“Better?” he asked her. Hermione bit her lip for a moment before pulling her wand back out, ignoring Draco’s raised eyebrow as she did so. She transfigured the newly discarded robes into a rather fashionable suit jacket. He eyed the article with a small frown after putting it back on. 

“This is what muggles wear is it?” Hermione nodded and held back a grin. He looked even better in muggle clothing than he did in robes. And that was saying something. He shrugged and gave her his arm. 

“Shall we?” she grinned up at him

“We shall!” She apparated them about a block from the hotel where the party was being hosted. 

“Oh. Granger.” He stopped and pulled something out of his pocket “Put this on.” She looked at it and was shocked to find it was a rather large ring.

“What?” She looked back up at him.

“You want to show off right? What better way to do that then to be engaged?” Hermione looked between him and the ring.

“Bu-”

“Look Granger, from what I gather, you rather hate these people. Enough to indebt yourself to me of all people. If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it right.” Hermione just nodded dumbly and took the ring, slipping it on her right hand with ease. 

“Thank you Draco.” she looked back up at him and saw something very akin to affection in his gaze before it was replaced with his usual smirk. 

“Now, shall we go, my dear fiancee?” She smirked back

“I suppose.” 


	8. In Which Hester Crashes a Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why is it I always seem to have more time to write during the school year, when I'm taking five classes and working two jobs. I don't get it. I really don't.

Hermione walked through the door with way more confidence than she really possessed. She felt Draco’s hand slide into hers as they walked into the building. 

“We’re here for the party.” Hermione told the man at the front desk. He assessed them, and Hermione had a sneaking suspicion that he was assessing her assets more than she herself. She knew she should have worn a different dress, this one was way more low-cut than she was used to. She started to fidget, but Draco stilled her with a squeeze of his hand. 

“The Granger party.” Draco snapped at the man. Hermione sent him a thankful look. The man cleared his throat and pointed them in the direction of the ballroom. Neither Hermione nor Draco bothered thanking him. They were hit with the sound of people chatter as they entered the room. Hermione made a face which Draco laughed at before professing his agreement.

“I’ll be right back.” Draco whispered in her ear as he let go of her hand. Hermione gave him a confused look but nodded anyway. She was wandering the edges of the party in search of the refreshment table when she heard her cousin Cornelia’s voice behind her.

“I’m impressed Hermione, you actually own a hairbrush.” She turned around slowly

“I own a great many things that would surprise you Cornelia.” she replied thoughtfully. Cornelia just sneered at her.

“What would little miss bookworm be up to lately?” Cornelia asked, no doubt looking for something else to insult her about.

“Oh you know, work.” 

“Oh Really?” Cornelia sneered “And what is it you do for a living?” Hermione shrugged, trying to keep a straight face as she bent the truth.

“I’m working as a detective on a missing persons case.” Cornelia couldn’t seem to find anything to say about that. 

“Find yourself a boyfriend yet?” She finally asked. Hermione smirked

“Why? Need him to find you a date?” Cornelia was about to answer when Hermione heard the unmistakable voice of Draco behind her.

“There you are love. Here, I got our drinks.” He handed her a drink with a peck on her cheek. Hermione fought to contain her blush. 

“Thank you Draco. May I introduce my cousin Cornelia?” she nodded at Cornelia, who no longer looked offended, and instead looked very much like a bird of prey. Draco pretended he had just seen her. 

“Oh. Hello there.” He told her lightly, with what Hermione knew to be false politeness.

“Cornelia, this is my fiance, Draco.” She told her cousin before she had a chance to speak, trying to contain a smug smile. Cornelia looked like she might faint.

“You chose  _ her _ ? The boring little bookworm?” She all but shrieked. 

“Ah, the thing about bookworms though is that their very well read, and always open to new ideas.” Draco replied, winking at Hermione. Hermione turned a bright red, luckily Cornelia didn’t notice as she had stalked off with a wild screech. Hermione started to laugh. 

“Tonight might be fun after all!” 

 

Draco now understood why she hated her family so much. Even her parents, after being momentarily offended at the ring on Hermione’s hand until she told them about their crazy plan, joined in the charade with gusto. The thing that bothered Draco the most about the entire event however, was how  _ easy _ it was. It was easy to lie, it was easy to make up pet names and inside jokes, it was easy to make people believe that he would be perfectly happy to spend the rest of his life with the woman who stood beside him. 

So easy, he could almost believe it was true. He could pretend that the loving looks he was sending her were real, that his hand resting on her back was a natural occurrence. He could pretend that he had a future with Hermione Granger that didn’t end with taking care of Hester. Draco had the unnerving feeling that he was falling for Hermione. And he was falling fast. 

The problem now manifested itself in the knowledge that he didn’t particularly want to stop. Why would he? If he weren’t such an ungrateful prat as a child, he would have realized long ago that Hermione was everything he had ever dreamed of in a woman. She was smart (top of their year) and funny, she had an amazing sense of humor, when you got past the bossiness. That was another thing, she was strong, she never let anyone push her around or tell her what she could or couldn’t do. Unless it was Weasley, and Draco preferred not to think about him. 

And she was beautiful. Merlin was she gorgeous. She had nearly taken his breath away when he had looked up to see her standing in his bedroom doorway in that wonderful dark purple dress, that hugged at all of her curves, curves he hadn’t even known she possessed. He remembered her how her eyes sparkled as she slid his ring on her finger. The ring he was starting to believe he didn’t want on any other hand but hers. Merlin’s sweaty underpants, he was a goner.

 

Hermione was dead on her feet before they had even started the speeches. Draco noticed this and started rubbing her back in small circles. Hermione smiled thankfully at him, somewhat alarmed at the attention he had been paying her all night. She was hesitant to admit it, but she was strangely okay with his weird actions. The light touches, the soft smiles, the subtle stares, it all seemed so familiar, so natural, in a way her relationship with Ron never was. It was odd to think about. 

Hermione and Draco heard a crack nearby, and she had to force herself to not whip out her wand in defense. Her hand did hover by her chest, so she could pull out her wand in an instant, should the need arise. She and Draco shared a look and they slipped off to investigate what they knew to be an apparition. Hermione groaned when she saw the top of a very familiar head. She tapped Draco’s shoulder and pointed out the small frame of their young charge, recently transfigured tiara twinkling in the low light.

Draco dropped to a knee and grabbed onto Hester. 

“What are you doing here?” He hissed at her. 

“Uncle Harry’s house is boringgggg. I wanna danceeeee.”

“Hester…” All the energy seemed to drain out of him. Hermione tapped him on the shoulder and gave him a nod. “Fine. Minnie says you can stay, but you have to play a game with us. It’s a game of pretend. Between Minnie, Me and Minnie’s mum and dad. And now you. Can you keep this secret Squirt?” She nodded vigorously, and Hermione was surprised she didn’t get whiplash. 

“Okay. In this game, you have to pretend that you are my neice. So you call me uncle Draco, not Daddy k? Oh and in the game, Minnie and I are going to get married. Got it Squirt?” She gave him a large grin and a sloppy salute. 

“Can I meet Minnie’s mummy and daddy now?” they laughed and Draco picked her up.

“Sure kid.”

 


	9. In Which Hermione unleashes her Fury.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been responding to comments. I keep meaning to but I forget between school and work. Speaking of which, I have a new job, working full time, so I may or may not have more time to write. It's kind of a toss up really because more hours vs. consistent schedule. I have a couple of other fics in the works, so hopefully I'll be able to get those up sometime soon as well. 
> 
> I have a picture of Hermione's dress from the party up on tumblr (nerdzewordart.tumblr.com/tagged/hester rose) as well as a few pictures of Hester etc. Check those out if you like.

 

“Daddy?” Draco was tucking Hester into Hermione’s spare bed when she spoke up. He was wondering when she was going to, she had been silent for a long time. 

“Yes Hester?”

“Are you and Minnie married?”

“No. We’re not married.”

“But you both take care of me! Just like Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny take care of James and Albus.” Draco blinked at her and tried to come up with a suitable response.

“That just means that we both love you. Just like Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny both love James and Albus.”

“Well  _ I _ think you and Minny should be married. Then we can be a real family.”

“Just because we’re not married, doesn’t mean we’re not a real family Hester.”

“I still think you and Minnie should get married though.” She told him sleepily. 

“Okay. I’ll tell Minnie you think so.” She nodded sharply. A movement Draco was sure she picked up from Hermione. He smiled. “Good night Hester Rose.”

“G’night Daddy.”

Draco joined Hermione in the living room, where they were going to discuss Hester’s mother. Hermione handed him a glass of wine and curled herself onto the the chair. She had changed into pajamas and unleashed her hair again as well. Draco looked at her with some trepidation. He wanted to bring up Hester’s question, but he wasn’t sure how she would react. 

Hell, he wasn’t even sure how to react to the knowledge that he thought she was just as beautiful sitting there in her penguin pajamas, with her hair in a large wave, tucked behind her ears.  She looked tired and worried, and Draco had the sudden urge to hug her. That one was new. 

“What’s bothering you?” he finally asked

“How on earth did she get to the party at all?” Hermione looked at him over the top of her wine glass. “How did Hester, who is only five years old, figure out how to apparate?”

“You think someone else taught her?”

“I think out of all of the things she could have done by accident, apparition is last on that list.”

“Who would go through all the effort of teaching a little girl without a wand, how to do one of the most complicated tricks in the wizarding world?” Draco was silent for a moment, he thought about the question that had been haunting him since the day they had gone to the foster home. Hermione set down her wine glass at his contemplative look.

“Someone who had nothing left to lose.” He murmured and looked back up at her. “What if Hester’s mom taught her?”

“Hester’s mom was a muggle Draco.”

“Hermione, I’ve been there. When you have nothing left to lose, you can and will do anything to save yourself and the people you love. She had twice the reason to be afraid. She was a muggle. She had no idea what wizards were capable of, and she knew that she would never be able to protect Hester against a wizard if she had to.”

“But if she were involved with a wizard, she would have picked up some of the things we can do! She probably taught Hester at least the basic concept of apparation, just in case of an emergency! Oh Draco you’re brilliant!” Hermione threw herself into his arms and gave him a tight squeeze. Draco staggered under the unexpected weight, but it wasn’t until she pulled back that either of them realized the position the had found themselves in.

 

A loud pop reverberated around the room and both Hermione and Draco looked up, straight into the eyes of Ronald Weasley. They both stared at him without a word as he swayed back and forth on innibrated legs. Hester came running back into the room at the sound, and seeing Ron, promptly began to scream; effectively breaking the silence. She chanced running past Ron, who still had yet to figure out what was going on, and fell into Draco’s open arms, sobbing. 

Draco didn’t know what to make of the little girl’s reaction. Hester wasn’t afraid of strangers. She saw every new person as a chance to make friends. Which meant that Ron wasn’t a new person, and he wasn’t a good person. Draco hated him a little more in that moment. Hester clung to Draco and he wrapped his arms around her protectively while whispering in her ear. He shared a look with Hermione who stood up to address Ron. 

“What are you doing here Ron?” Ron looked back at her, his eyes previously resting on Hester.

“Huh? Oh. I came to get you back. Hey Hermione, why do you have Hester Rose? You’re not supposed to know about her.” Draco snorted and Hermione gave him a glare. Ron however seemed to just notice that Draco was there. 

“MALFOY! What are you doing here! Get away from my daughter!” Draco’s eyes widened in shock and he didn’t have time to react when Ron took a step towards him, no doubt intending on ripping Hester from his grasp. The second he moved however, Hester screamed again. Draco winced.

“Hey Squirt. Could you try to not scream in my ear next time?” he whispered in her ear. Hester nodded

“Okay Daddy.” Then Ron exploded, turning to Hermione.

“Why is he here!” he shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Draco. “Why is  _ my _ daughter calling  _ him  _ ‘daddy’?” Hermione had been simmering in silence for the past minute, and with the most recent barrage of questions she exploded.

“Don’t you dare Ronald!” She yelled. Draco smirked in satisfaction

“Minnie’s going to put him in his place.” he whispered to Hester, who gave him a small smile. 

“Don’t you dare come into  _ my _ apartment and throw around accusations and insult  _ my  _ friends! And while we’re at it, if she’s your daughter Ronald, why has she been here for two months!  _ Two months Ronald! _ If she’s your daughter, maybe you can explain to me why her father was nowhere to be seen when her mother  _ died  _ three months ago? Tell me why she was wandering the streets when Draco found her?” Ron paled with every word she said. 

“Minnie is scary.” Hester whispered in Draco’s ear 

“Yeah she is.” He whispered back, and Hester giggled. Ron looked over at them and yelled at Draco.

“What are you telling her Malfoy, don’t you dare poison her with your lies!” Hester shrieked again and buried her face back in Draco’s chest. Hermione fumed for only a moment before hitting him with a spell.

He fell to the ground with a thud reminiscent of the one Neville made when hit with the same spell her first year of Hogwarts. 

“Good riddance.” Draco said, picking Hester up. Hermione flood Ginny. 

“Ginny? Could we send Hester to you for a while? I think we found her father, and I realize now why Hester never wanted us to find him.” Draco couldn’t hear Ginny on the other side but he knew what she would say. That woman really could not say no to a child in need. He looked at his little girl, and wondered when he had gotten so attached to her. When Hester had become  _ his  _ little girl.

“I need you to tell me about him now Squirt.” He told her quietly. She nodded and rubbed her face, which still had tear trails running down it, on Draco’s sweater.

“Bad daddy wasn’t very nice. He would stomp everywhere, even though mummy told him not to and you’re always supposed to listen to mummy. And he yelled a lot and made mummy cry. And one day I was pretending to be asleep and I peeped out of me door like this” Hester tried to demonstrate using Draco’s arm and he had to resist the urge to laugh. “And I saw him.” she whispered “I saw him hit mummy and say he was gonna take me away from mummy” Hester started to cry. Draco petted her hair and whispered in her ear. 

“Come on Squirt, let’s go see Aunt Ginny.” 

 

When Draco got back, Hermione had tied Ron to the kitchen chair and was feeding him a sober up potion. When she was done, she looked at Draco who nodded.  Hermione unfroze him.

“Well then Ronald. You have some explaining to do.” Hermione crossed her arms “Starting with why you have a five year old daughter seeing as her conception and subsequent birth would be conveniently placed during our engagement.” Her shoulders shook, and Draco had the sudden urge to hold her and protect her the same way he had previously been holding Hester. But he didn’t. He knew Hermione needed this, and when the shock wore off and was replaced with pent up anger, he would want to watch the explosion from a safe distance away. Ron looked uneasy.

“And why Ronald, did you think that you could come in here, after not saying a word to me for three  _ years _ , that I was suddenly going to just fall back into your arms? And you had the  _ nerve _ to try and pin our failed relationship on  _ me! _ ” There it was. The anger she had been holding back for three years, finally let loose.  Draco thought he might have fallen in love with her then.

The image of her hair frizzing ridiculously and her eyes full of the fire he had so admired in school was ingrained in his head, filed under “How things are supposed to be.” He knew then that he had to do everything in his power to keep Ron away from Hester. He never wanted his wonderful rambunctious brat of a little girl reduced to the fragile, hollow shell of a person that Hermione had been. Ron opened his mouth to speak and Draco almost pitied him. There was nothing he could say that could ever appease Hermione when she was in this state. 

“I’m so sorry Hermione. Her mom was a one night stand. It didn’t mean anything! I didn’t even know about Hester Rose until she was almost a year old. And I knew you wouldn’t like it, so I kept her a secret. I would go and visit a couple of times a year and I sent her mom money every month.” Draco stepped in before Hermione hurt herself or killed Ron. 

“So why is it that you found it necessary to hurt Hester’s mom? And if it was only a one night stand, how did she manage to contact you? You’re a wizard, she was a muggle, she wouldn’t have been able to find you.” The color drained from Ron’s face and he turned to Hermione.

“Are you listening to this Hermione!? Why is he even here? He’s a death eater!” Wrong move. Hermione snapped. 

“Oh grow up Ronald! Don’t you dare try and make Draco the villain here! He has done nothing wrong, in fact he’s fixing everything that you somehow managed to fuck up. So don’t you dare try and pin this on him! This entire mess was all you. The facts are simple Ron, you messed up and brought a beautiful, wonderful perfect little-

“Brat.” Draco muttered with a small smile. Hermione smirked at him and continued

“ _ Angel _ into the world, and yet you  _ still  _ managed to mess that up too. You should have been there for her, been the father she deserved, and you weren’t.”

“I can do that though! I can be her Dad!” Hermione just shook her head

“You lost your chance Ron. She trusted you and you hurt her. You may be her father, but you will never be her dad again.” Ron eyed her bitterly. 

“Oh and who will? Malfoy? He’ll hurt her even worse! Remember what he used to do you in school!?”

“Ron! We’re not in school anymore! Things change! People grow up! You can either choose to live in the past, or you can change with them. I’m done living in the past, Ron. I’m done letting you hurt me, and I’ll be damned if I let you hurt that little girl again! And I can promise you that if you try to interrupt her life again, you will never get her back in any form.” 

“But Malfoy, Hermione? You can’t trust him!” Hermione stepped back and grasped Draco’s hand and he squeezed it in response. 

“I trust Draco with my life. With Hester’s life. With Harry and Ginny’s lives and just about everyone else I love. Draco has proven himself to be a good friend and a better father to Hester than you ever were.” Draco laced his fingers with hers and squeezed lightly in support. All he wanted to do was beat Ron to a pulp for hurting the girl he now considered his own daughter, but he restrained himself. He was more than aware of Hermione’s faith in him, and he didn’t want her faith to be misplaced. 

Somewhere along the line, her opinion of him began to matter more than his own. She made him a better person, and the only thing he could do in return was be there for her while she faced her own demons. So that was what he was going to do. Ron blinked at their clasped hands. 

“Merlin. Are you with him? Hermione! You used to be so smart!”  Hermione’s eyes flashed dangerously. 

“Not that it makes a difference, but no Ron. We aren’t together. But Draco has been wonderful and if given the opportunity, I would date him over you any day!” the warning chime on the floo sounded and they both looked up to see Harry standing there. 

“Aha.” Was all he said, before he collected the still gaping Ron. He saluted Draco as he led Ron to the floo. “I’ll finish questioning him in a more official proximity now. Later guys.” 


	10. In Which Draco and Hermione Have a Heart to Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends! 
> 
> It's a good thing I've already finished this story because this semester is kicking my ass. It doesn't help that one of my professors refuses to give me any real feedback on my animation. 
> 
> There's more art for this story on my blog (nerdzewordart.tumblr.com/tagged/hester rose) for anyone who is interested.

 

As soon as he was out of sight, Hermione broke down into tears. Draco did what he had been wanting to do all evening and held her close as she cried on his chest, her arms wrapped around his waist. They stood like that for a good half hour, holding each other while Draco silently stroked her hair. Eventually Hermione pulled away from him and wiped away her tears.

“I’m sorry. I must look a wreck.” Draco cocked his head and assessed her appearance.

“No you look beautiful as always.” she laughed hollowly.

“You don’t have to lie to make me feel better.”

“What purpose would my lying do? No I’m telling you the truth Hermione.” She stared at him with glassy eyes.

“I don’t deserve you.” she whispered.

Draco suddenly remembered a thought that had passed through his head and wondered if he even knew what it meant to be in love. Was love just a fluttery feeling in your stomach or more? What he did know was that he was tired of fighting it, whatever it was. He had to fight for his freedom, he had to fight for his position in the ministry, he was going to have to fight to keep his daughter, what was the point on fighting himself? Yes he didn’t deserve her, yes he was still an emotional wreck, yes he now had a five year old daughter to think of, but for once in his life, he refused to let his self doubt cripple him.

“Did you mean it? What you said earlier?”

“Yes.” Hermione didn’t bother asking as to what he was referring. Draco moved a strand of hair from her face and held his breath.

“Would you like that opportunity?” He asked her quietly, almost dreading her answer.

“I would like that a lot, yes.” she breathed. In an instant, Draco had his lips pressed against hers, one arm wrapped around her waist and the other cradling her face. The kiss only lasted a moment, but he felt as if an eternity had passed when he opened his eyes and pulled back. Her eyes searched his own for a moment, and apparently she found whatever she was looking for, because a second later her lips were back on his and her arm was sneaking its way around his neck. If he hadn’t sworn off all prejudices years before, Draco would have sworn them off then and there. There was no way that kissing Hermione could ever have been considered wrong and it pained him to think that if he had just rid himself of prejudices earlier, he could have kissed her sooner.

“Do you think we could just leave Hester at the Potter’s for the night?” He asked pressing kisses against her neck.

“Probably better not.” She replied breathily

“Damn.”

 

Hermione was on Draco’s doorstep bright and early the next day. Or in his floo as it so happened. She wandered through the apartment, which was already so different from the place she had stepped into the first day. There were toys and kids clothes everywhere, the fridge had a collage of children’s drawings covering it and the walls were littered with magical photos that Hermione had taken of them all. She smiled slightly.

Hermione stopped and looked at one of the photographs. She had dragged Draco and Hester to one of the carnivals taking place in muggle London, and had made Draco stand still while she had given the camera to a random muggle to snap a picture. It was a loop of Draco holding Hester while she messes his hair up and Hermione laughs from beside them. She hadn’t realized just how much they looked and acted like a family already until she looked at the pictures. She wandered into Draco’s room and found him still asleep, sprawled across the bed, with Hester curled up against his chest. Hermione leaned over the bed and kissed him softly. He smiled and opened his eyes.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” He shifted slightly and pulled Hermione into the bed beside him, careful not to wake up the sleeping girl on top of him. Hermione leaned against him and pulled her fingers through Hester’s hair.

“She looks so peaceful when she’s asleep.” Hermione whispered

“I know.” He stared at her.  “I can’t lose her Granger.” he finally whispered

“We won’t Draco. We’re going to fight for her. And we’re going to win. You know why?” Hermione leaned up and turned his head to look at her again. “Because you are her _Daddy_ , Draco. She loves you and you love her, and there’s no way Ron is ever going to take that from either of you.”

“Hermione, He’s a war hero. I’m a former death eater. There’s no way they’re going to chose me over him.” Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

“Giving up so easily Malfoy?” He sighed.

“I’m just being realistic Hermione.”

“Draco Malfoy, I am the most realistic person I know, and I _know_ that you can do this. So stop letting your insecurities get the best of you and use that brain I know you have.” Draco looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

“I can’t even tell if you are trying to be supportive or not. What kind of girlfriend are you?” She snorted in a very unflattering manner.

“If you wanted a supportive girlfriend, you would have stayed with Astoria Greengrass.”

“Fair. I like you much better anyway.”

“Thanks. I’m glad you like me more than your ex girlfriend.” He grinned and pulled her closer.

“What are you doing here before noon anyway?”

“I thought I’d come see how Hester was doing after her ordeal last night.”Draco looked back down at the little girl in his arms.

“I talked to her a bit last night. She doesn’t want to go with him. I promised her she wouldn’t have to. I don’t want to break my promise Hermione.”

“You shouldn’t have to Draco. You shouldn’t have to.”

 


	11. In Which Hester is Conniving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One chapter left! I can't believe how fast the weeks have flown by!  
> Anyway, enjoy!

Draco threw his book against the other wall in frustration. Hermione looked up from where she was reading her own book on the couch across from him.

“What’s wrong?” Draco groaned and ran his hands down his face before standing and starting to pace the room. He was suddenly glad Hermione had arranged for Hester to spend the day at the Potter’s house.

“I can’t find anything even remotely helpful to the case. The laws against child abandonment and homelessness only just came about in the last two years, so there’s no prerequisite. Nothing!” Hermione studied him for a moment. 

“Have you tried contacting a lawyer yet?” he sighed and sat down on the couch beside her 

“There’s only one who will even consider working with me, and he’s a massive dick.” Hermione put her book down and turned to face him. 

“Draco Malfoy, do you want custody of that little girl or not?” He nodded his head silently. “Then suck it up and call that lawyer! He can’t be any worse than you.” Draco gave her a small grin, but it dropped off his face when he remembered who they were talking about. 

“You may come to regret that.” He told her before standing up and walking to the floo. Hermione rolled her eyes and went back to reading her book, wondering how she managed to fall for such a drama queen.

 

Hermione stared at the letter on her new desk with a sense of foreboding. It was just a letter. A letter with her name on it. But she suddenly had the unnerving feeling that it was not going to bring good news. She plopped down at her desk. Why couldn’t her life ever be normal? She just wanted to go an entire week without something ridiculous and complicated trying to screw with her or her family. It took her a moment to realize that she now considered Draco and his new charge family, but she shrugged it off. She already knew she was head over heels for the prat. 

Now what to do about the letter.  She studied it closely. It was just sitting there on the freshly cleaned new desk in her brand new office, but Hermione knew better than to ignore a gut feeling. The downside to not having anything in her office yet, was that she was lacking objects that she could turn into a stick to poke it. Well, she had a couple of pictures on her desk, one of Harry and Ginny’s wedding reception, and another of the same picture she loved so much from Draco’s wall, but there was no way she would be using those. 

Ron’s voice from first year floated through her head.  _ Are you a witch or not? _ Hermione pulled out her wand and cast a few detection spells. There was nothing wrong with the letter that she could tell. So why did she feel so awful? She picked it up and carefully opened it.

“Oh.” She read the words written on the paper with no small amount of anger.

 

_ You deserve better than a death eater. _

 

Hermione wished she knew who had sent it, because she was suddenly very certain that she would very much like to punch them. How dare they try to come between her and Draco? How dare they send her anonymous letters at all! Hermione burnt the letter to a crisp in her hand. If they thought she would be that easy to dissuade, whoever sent that note had another thing coming.

 

Hermione hadn’t planned on telling Draco about the note, but when she got to his apartment and found him in a state of outrage, a letter clutched in his hand, she knew he had to know too. 

“Where’s Hester?” she asked him, pulling the letter from his hand.

“I put her to bed already.” Hermione nodded and opened the letter, letting the words roll over her.

 

_ Cease and Desist _

 

“If I ever figure out who sent these letters, I’m going to punch them so hard.” She muttered

“Wait. Letters?” Draco turned to look at her. Hermione shrugged. 

“I got one this morning saying how I deserved better than a death eater. I was so mad I burnt it though.” Draco stared at her for a minute before pulling her into his arms. 

“Merlin, I don’t deserve you.” He muttered into her hair. Hermione pulled back.

“Don’t you dare, Draco Malfoy. You are the best thing that has happened to me in years. Don’t you dare start to doubt yourself now.” he chuckled and pulled her back so she was resting in his arms properly. 

He pulled out his wand and turned on the radio, letting the music filter through the room. Hermione looked up at him in surprise, but he just smiled and spun her around. She laughed softly and rested her head on his chest. 

“I love you. You know that right?” She asked him, letting him guide her in a slow dance that in no way matched the tempo of the song. 

“You sure you want to do this with me Hermione? There are people that will start to hate you too.”

“There are also people who will start to love _ you  _ too Draco. It’s all about perspective. Besides, you and Hester would be hopeless without me.” She could feel his smile without even looking.

“That’s very true.” He stopped moving. “I love you too Hermione.” Hermione snuggled closer to him, secretly pleased that he had admitted it to her. The song changed and Draco spun her around in a circle, finally matching the tempo of the song. Hermione laughed as he led her into a dance that was somewhere between wonderful and ridiculous. 

 

Draco stared at Hester from across the table. He finally had a full Saturday off, so he could spend time with his adopted daughter, but he had no idea what to do with her. Maybe they could go to the park? What did five year olds like to do anyway? She had already gone through all of her school projects for the week, and showed him all of her new pictures. She had also told him all about Hermione’s latest book finds for her, never mind the fact that he had read half of them to her earlier that week already. She was now running around the living room in circles, pretending to be a dragon. He found the random growling more amusing than he let on.

“Daddy!” Hester stopped in front of him. her tiny hands on her hips. Draco watched her with a small smirk. “Dance with me.” She demanded.

“No.”

“Why not.” 

“I don’t dance.”

“Yes you can. I saw you and Minnie.”

“You were supposed to be asleep young lady.” he tried to distract her

“Don’t change the subject.” Draco wondered when the small girl started sounding like Hermione. Maybe he should cut her off. Who was he kidding though, if he cut Hester off, he’d have to cut himself off, and that was just unacceptable.

“Why were you not in bed Hester?” 

“Dance with me or I’ll tell Uncle Harry you dance with Minnie and not me.” Draco sighed 

“When did you get so convening?” She just grinned and dragged him to the center of the room. He pulled out his wand and turned on the radio the way he did with Hermione the week before. He spun her in circles for a full hour, before he finally called a timeout, breathless, and happier than he’d been in a long time.

To keep her from trying to start again, he offered to take her on a shopping trip to find a present for Hermione. Hester agreed wholeheartedly and Draco let out a breath of relief. Thank Merlin his charge was so enamored with his girlfriend.

 

After returning home from what Hester called their ‘Daddy-Daughter Day’ Draco dropped her off at the Potter's house and set about cleaning up the apartment, which was in ruins from Hester’s dragon attack earlier that day. Hermione would be there later to discuss the trial with his new lawyer, and he didn’t want to give the man anything else to use as ammo for what was sure to already be a trying night. There was a knock on the door, and Draco pretended that he hadn’t spent the entire afternoon spoiling his daughter rotten, as he opened the door to let in his new lawyer. Blaise Zabini looked around the apartment with a small smirk. 

“I like what you’ve done with the place. It’s cozy.” Draco scowled at him. 

“Might as well come in then, Zabini. Hermione will probably be here in a minute or so.”

“Ah yes, I heard about your new girlfriend. You owe me money for that.”

“What. No! That was in sixth year.” 

“It never had a time limit, and I won. You did hook up with Potter or Granger. Possibly both. You’re rather cozy with him lately.”

“He’s my boss Zabini.” Blaise winked at him “Never stopped people before!”

“You disgust me.”

“Draco, be nice to our guest.” Hermione appeared behind him, a casserole in her hands. Draco eyed it dubiously.

“You didn’t make that did you?” Hermione was going to answer  but Blaise beat her there.

“Draco! Don’t be so rude to your girlfriend! She may just leave you for a better wizard.” Blaise winked at her, making Draco scowl.

“As charming as you are Blaise, I don’t date married men. And no Draco, I didn’t make the casserole, Molly made it for us.”

“Molly? As in Molly Weasley?” Blaise blinked a few times. Hermione smiled brightly at him.

“Yes! She’s quite fond of Draco, and of course she just adores Hester.” Draco wasn’t sure Molly Weasley was as fond of him as Hermione implied, since she had pointed a wand in his face as soon as he had walked through the door of the Sunday brunch that Hermione had dragged him to the week before. But he supposed she might have warmed up to him a little. The five year old that clung to him all day probably helped.

The fun loving flirt from school disappeared from Blaise’s face as he studied them. 

“That’s good. The more Weasley’s we have on your side, the better. We’re not going to win this case by playing fair. We’re going to win by being the most charismatic.” Hermione tilted her head to the side and studied Blaise. 

“How do you do that whole personality change thing? It seems like it could come in handy.” Draco looked at her, noticing that she still had her glasses on and was still holding the casserole. He took the pan from her hands and motioned for her to join Blaise on the couch. 

“I am going to take this to the kitchen, you go interrogate Mr. Bipolar over there about his acting skills.”

“That was rude, but I’m going to let it slide, as long as you bring out that lovely bottle of pinot grigio I noticed in your fridge this morning.” Hermione pecked him on the lips and he gave her a lopsided grin. 

“Your wish is my command.” Draco heard Hermione start to interrogate Blaise as he wandered into the kitchen with the casserole. 

“So Blaise, what are your feelings on house elves?” He grinned to himself. Maybe tonight wouldn’t be so bad after all.

  
  
  



	12. In Which There is a New Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the end. It's been truly a pleasure to write this, and share it with all of you. 
> 
> If you haven't already, feel free to follow me on tumblr, where I might still post more doodles of all of these lovely characters. As well as maybe animations? We'll see how much time I have. (That would be here--> nerdzewordart.tumblr.com) 
> 
> Also! I have a few different other fics in the works right now, so keep an eye out for those as well. Cheerio mates!

“We now call Hester Rose Katharine Daemon to the stand.” One of the aurors led Hester to the stand and helped her climb up. She found Draco and waved to him in excitement. She really had no idea that they were determining her fate today did she? Cheeky brat. He waved back to her anyway.

“Would the prosecution begin questioning?” It was obvious the judge wasn’t happy about involving a little girl in the trial. Weasley’s lawyer stood up and walked to stand in front of Hester.

“What is your name?” He asked the little girl 

“Hester Rose.” She answered him with a sharp nod of her head that Draco was certain she had picked up from Hermione. 

“Good. Could you pick your daddy out of the crowd please Hester?” Hester lost no time in pointing at Draco. “No Hester.” The man reprimanded “Your real Daddy.” Hester looked offended.

“That  _ is  _ my real Daddy.” She said angrily. 

“Very well, your first Daddy.” The man changed his tactics, obviously peeved. 

“You mean Bad Daddy?” she pointed at Ron. 

“Thank you Hester.” the man quickly recovered “Now could you point out your mommy in the crowd?” Hester shook her head.

“Mommy went to live with the angels.” She told him sadly.

“And when was that-”

“Objection your honor!” Blaise called out. “She’s five and has no real grasp on the mechanics of time.” 

“Granted.” the judge nodded at Blaise, who sat down. The other lawyer looked at his notes. 

“That’s all.” The Judge nodded

“Defense?” Blaise stood up once again.

“How are you Hester Rose?” He asked her. She shrugged. “Could you point to your Daddy?” she pointed once again to Draco. “Why is he your Daddy?” She smiled brightly

“He reads me stories and buys me presents, but Minnie says he should stop because I’ma be spoiled. He gets them for me when Minnie isn’t looking. Oh! and he dances with me, but he made me promise not to tell anyone because Minnie would get jealous.” The crowd chuckled at her rambling. 

“Could you point to Minnie for me Hester?” Hester pointed out Hermione in the crowd. 

“Can it be put on record that Minnie is Miss Hermione Granger.” The judge nodded at him. “Who is Minnie, Hester?” Hester grinned 

“Minnie is my bestest friend! She and Daddy are in love.” She told Blaise importantly. “I heard them say so!” Blaise smiled at her. Draco smirked at his daughter.

“Could you point at your first Daddy Hester.” Hester pointed at Ron again “You referred to him as Bad Daddy before. Why?”

“Mummy called him Bad Daddy. She said he was bad for making me cry. Daddy says I shouldn’t call him Bad Daddy anymore because it might make him cry but I can’t call him Good Daddy, so Daddy says I should just call him Ron then. But that sounds funny. Minnie called him Ron’ld once. That sounds even funnier.” She told Blaise. 

“Did Ron ever hurt you Hester?” Blaise asked her. Hester shook her head. 

“No but he hurt Mummy. I saw him when I was ‘apposed to be asleep. He hit her right in the face. And he yelled a lot. Mommy said it was because of the bottles. She said the stuff made him not himself. But I asked her who he was if he wasn’t himself and she said she didn’t know!” Hester looked practically outraged at the thought of her mother not knowing anything.

“Does Draco ever hurt you Hester?” Hester grinned

“One time Daddy tickled me and I was laughing so so hard and it kinda hurt!” Another round of laughter erupted from the onlookers. 

“That’s all your honor.” Blaise sat back down as the Auror led Hester away from the stands. 

“The Defense would like to call Draco Malfoy to the stands.” The judge called out. Draco strode purposefully to the stands. Blaise stood up and strode forward to confront him giving him a half smile.

“Mr. Malfoy. What is your current occupation?” 

“I am an Auror working directly under Potter.” Draco replied, almost bored. Blaise nodded.

“Would you please explain in detail how you found Hester Rose?” 

“I was walking through Muggle London on my way to work-”

“Just to clarify mister Malfoy, Why were you in muggle London?”

“I have a flat there.”

“Thank you, please continue.” 

“I was walking to work, running late as it so happens, when I find I am being followed by a small and incredibly grimy child. I stop to ask where her parents have wandered off to and she tells me, through miles of five year old jargon, that her mother is dead and she could do magic. Being aware of the laws on childhood homelessness in the magical world, I opted to bring her back to my flat, where I cleaned her up with the help of Mrs. Ginny Potter, and took her with me to the Ministry to meet with Harry.” Blaise nodded at him. 

“And why did you decide to adopt Miss Daemon as your own?”

“When I first announced my intention to adopt, we hadn’t yet discovered the identity of her father, and I decided that I would take her in, should we not find him. It wasn’t until Mr. Weasley announced himself as her father that I realized just how deep Hester’s fear of him was. I love that little girl as if she were my own daughter and I don’t ever want to see her in the care of someone who scares her so much she would impede an investigation just to avoid him.” 

“That is all. Thank you your  honor.”

 

The jury didn't take particularly long to convene, after both Harry and Hermione were called to the stands in Ron’s defense. this was a terrible judgement call on the part of Ron’s lawyer, as neither of them wanted much to do with Ron after what he’d done to Hester’s mom, Hester and Hermione. The judge re-took the stands and called the court to order. 

“We believe that with the evidence provided to us by Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy, along with the testimony of miss Daemon, Ronald Weasley is hereby detained for questioning on several accounts of spousal abuse, as well as breaking and entering. As such, he has been found incapable of  raising a child. Congratulations Mr. Malfoy. You are now a father.”

 

As soon as she could reach him, Hermione threw her arms around Draco’s neck and he swung her around as they laughed. He kissed her quickly, as he still wasn’t a fan of PDA.

“You know what this means though.” He told her. 

“What does this mean?” Hermione asked. 

“It means that we need to alter our agreement. I think you need to be allowed to see Hester more than once every two weeks if you’re going to live with her.” He told her seriously.

“Draco Malfoy, are you asking me to move in with you?” Hermione exclaimed.

“No.” Draco replied “I’m asking you to marry me.” he pulled a box out of his pocket and opened it for her. 

“Draco you really have the strangest timing for these things.” he only shrugged

“Well someone has to keep you on your toes.” She laughed

“And the five year old can’t do it?”

“Merlin woman, it’s a yes or no question!” She smiled smugly.

“I don’t recall you ever actually asking me a question” He groaned 

“I just had to fall in love with a know it all.” he pulled the ring out of the box, shoving the now empty box back in his pocket. Sliding the ring on her finger, he whispered in her ear. 

“Marry me Hermione?” 

“Yes.” she whispered back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly have no idea how courtrooms work so I hope tv has served me well in that respect. 
> 
> You guys are welcome to continue talking to me whenever, I'm always open to new friends ;)


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